BLM oil and gas auction draws max bid of $125 per acre

RENO — The Blanco Company, based in Albuquerque, N.M., bid $200,000 for a 1,600-acre parcel, $125 per acre, in the last quarterly sale of oil and gas leases by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management this month.

The BLM sold 33 parcels totaling 53,923 acres, which generated $862,183. The BLM offered leases on 40 parcels totaling 66,236 acres for auction.

Another six parcels totaling 10,400 acres were sold during a non-competitive sale for $18,722.

All but two of the 40 parcels were in Nye County, predominantly in Railroad Valley, the major oil producing region in Nevada.

The Blanco Company bid $398,798 for seven parcels totaling 6,951.34 acres. Besides the bid at $125 per acre, The Blanco Company bid $105 per acre for another 600.5 acre tract, for $63,105. The company bid $30 per acre for a 1,232 acre tract, for $36,960. The Blanco Company submitted bids for parcels closer to Currant and Highway 6.

Kirkwood Oil and Gas Company of Casper, Wyo. successfully bid on 19 parcels totaling 38,514.3 acres but paid out less than Blanco, $203,184.50. Their bid prices were in the range of $2 to $4 per acre, except for a 1,560-acre parcel which they bid $60 per acre, or $93,600. Kirkwood bid on a number of parcels farther south in Railroad Valley, near the Quinn Canyon Range.

Other bidders included:

• David DiBiase of Carmel, Calif., who paid $2 per acre for a 120-acre parcel, $6 per acre for a 953.38-acre parcel and $2 per acre for a 440-acre parcel;

• Liberty Petroleum Corp. of New York, which submitted a bid of $5.50 per acre for 1,916 acres;

• William Cochran of Houston, who bid $43 per acre for a 2,230 acre parcel or $99,803;

• Western States Minerals Corp. of Lakewood, Colo., which bid $18 per acre for a 2,358.72 acre parcel or $42,462;

• Charter Post LLC, with a $42 per acre bid for a 349.35-acre parcel or $14,700.

Half of the bid and rental receipts go to the State of Nevada. Leases are for a period of 10 years, with annual rentals of $1.50 per acre due to the BLM for the first five years and $2 an acre after that until production begins. Once a lease is producing, a royalty fee of 12.5 percent is charged.

In the March auction, the BLM sold 29 parcels totaling 45,561 acres. Lone Wolf Exploration and Production Company of Billings, Montana bid $152 per acre for a 157.27 acre parcel, $128 per acre for two parcels of 1,280 acres and 480 acres and $127 per acre for an 840-acre parcel. The company bid on 16 parcels all told.

The next quarterly oil and gas sale is scheduled for Dec. 10, which will feature parcels in the Ely BLM district.